Shh, I've got you
by NoPitSoDeep
Summary: Tony/Bruce. Bruce is haunted by his abusive childhood, and Tony wants to help. Scared/Limp!Bruce, angry/protective!Tony. R & R. Don't sue me. Rating just to be sure. 2nd chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Please, no flames? I tried? Reviews are love! I had to reformat it, but I've got it, now. This isn't mine.

Warnings: None, really? Made it M to be safe for child abuse, and very, very gentle MxM.

Will become a two-shot.

3 ~NoPitSoDeep

"_No__. __Daddy__, __no__! __Daddy__, __please__!"_Align Center

"_Shut __up__, __Bruce__!"_

"_Daddy __stop__!"_

"_I __said __SHUT __UP__!"_

"NO!" Bruce's eyes flew open, and he sat up in bed. Sweat poured from his forehead, his wet hair falling into his face in soppy ringlets. His chest heaved as he fought to control himself, falling back on the pillow. He breathed deep, shutting his eyes, focusing on anything, everything, except how scared he was.

"Bruce?" He turned his head, green eyes flying open, only to Find Tony's face inches away from his. He focused on Tony's eyes, his beard, hair, everything about him Bruce could take in. Tony reached out, gently taking Bruce's hand in his, and their fingers threaded together, as if it were the most natural instinct either of them possessed. Bruce took one last, shuddering breath, and nodded, closing his eyes. Tony raised his eyebrows delicately.

"You good?" He asked, his voice soft. Bruce nodded.

"Y-yeah. I'm good."

Tony paused for a moment before reaching out, and wrapping his arms around Bruce's neck, pulling the other scientist against his chest. Bruce slid one arm around Tony's waist, and Tony placed a quiet kiss on the top of Bruce's head.

"Tell me." Tony whispered, gently running his fingers through the physicist's hair. Bruce traced the outline of the arc reactor through Tony's t-shirt with his index finger.

"It was my dad." He muttered, looking away from Tony's face. This was ridiculous. He shouldn't be so scared of something so far in his past.

"What about him?" Tony murmured, still playing tenderly with Bruce's curls.

"He um..." Bruce gulped, closing his eyes. "He was a...not-good person. When I was little, he'd beat me and my mother, when he was drunk and..." He trailed off, opening his eyes to stare into space, lost in thought.

"He was drunk a lot?" Tony asked, rubbing Bruce's back with his free hand.

"Y-yeah." Bruce said quietly, curling his fingers into Tony's shirt. "One night, when I was eight or nine, he um..." He went quiet for a moment, thinking about that night.

"Yeah?" Tony kissed Bruce's head again.

"H-he broke a bottle over my mom's head." Bruce shuddered at the memory. The blood on the floor, and his father beating his mother over, and over, until there was nothing left of the bottle, and very little left of her face. "She d-died. I begged him to stop, but...he wouldn't. Chlid protective services didn't really exist back then, but there were police officers who figured they couldn't leave him with me, so I was put in foster homes..." He trailed off again, trying to ward off unpleasant memories, to no avail. He snapped his eyes shut, as the images came flowing back.

_He __was __six__. __If __he __had __been __a __bigger__, __stronger __kid__, __he__'__d __have __been __able __to __make __it __up __to __the __attic__, __where __HE __couldn__'__t __find __him__. __But__he__wasn__'__t__big__, __or__strong__. __He__was__small__. __He__could__run__, __but__not__very__fast__. __Not__fast__enough__..._

"_I__'__m __gonna __find __you__, __Bruce__!" __His __father__'__s __voice __boomed __across __the __house__, __and __Bruce __crowded __as __far __into __the __corner __of __the __closet __as __he __could__. "__You __can__'__t __get __away __from __me__, __son__. __I__'__m __too __smart __for __you__." _

_Tears __poured __from __Bruce__'__s __eyes__. __No__. __No__, __no__, __no__, __no__, __no__. __This __wasn__'__t __happening__. __Not __again__. __Somebody __would __come__, __somebody __would __stop __him__, __somebody __HAD __to __stop __him__. __The __footsteps __were __getting __closer__, __and __closer__, __the __voice __getting __louder__, __and __louder__, __and __then __the __closet __door __was __flung __open__, __and __Bruce __was __dragged __out __by __his __wrist__. _

"_Daddy__, __PLEASE__!"_

_Lying __in __bed__, __hours __later__, __his __knees __pulled __up __to __his __chest__, __his __bruised __and __broken __body __screaming __it__'__s __protest__, __Bruce __cried__. __Quietly__, __secretly__, __so __his __father __wouldn__'__t __hear__, __he __sobbed __into __his __pillow__, __hoping __that __someday__, __somehow__, __he __would __be __stronger __than __his __dad__. _

"Bruce? Bruce!" Tony called, shaking him gently. "Come on, big guy. Back to real life."

Bruce shook his head, trying to clear it, as Tony asked his final question. "Where's your dad, now?"

"He's...um.." Bruce closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "He's serving life in prison. Gardiner state penitentiary. They ah...he tried a couple years ago to go out on probation, but it...didn't get approved." Tony nodded, and his body stilled for a moment, before he responded.

"You uh...you ever go see him?" Tony asked quietly, closing his eyes. He kept his voice even, maintaining the charade of being calm so that perhaps he could calm Bruce as well, but on the inside...he was on fire.

"No, not really." Bruce muttered, turning his face away. "I was...scared, I guess."

The thought of anyone hurting Bruce...killed him. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, and when he looked down, he noted that the arc reactor was brightening and dimming in time with his hearbeats. He sat up, slightly, moving to lay Bruce back down on his back.

"Gardener State Penn, you said?" He asked, pressing a light kiss to Bruce's cheek.

"Um...yeah." Bruce replied, raising his eyebrows. "Tony?"

Tony closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep, steadying breath before replying.

"Bruce, I've got to go somewhere for a little while, now, okay?" He wrapped his arms around Bruce's shoulders, pulling him up for a hug. "I'll be back soon, alright, babe? I just have to...fix something."

Bruce pulled back, his eyes filled with concern.

"Tony, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Bruce, nothing, I just have to..." He looked to one side, and back. "Finish something. I'll be back soon. I promise. Just gimmie, like...twenty minutes."

Bruce wanted to pursue the subject, but thought better of it. He had some idea of what Tony was about to do, and he knew there was no way for him to stop it.

"Okay. Come back soon, alright?"

Tony stood up, and then leaned down, kissing Bruce's lips gently. "Of course, babe." And he swept out of the room, leaving Bruce alone in the dark, with only his thoughts to keep him company.

"JARVIS, is he about to do what I think he's about to do?"

"If your estimations are that Mister Stark will now be proceeding to your father's cell at the Gardiner State Penitentiary, then yes, sir. I believe your suspicions have been confirmed."

Bruce laid back on the pillows, and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Alright."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Surprising as it may have been for Tony, the Gardner State Penitentiary did not look like an evil, terrible place. As far as prisons went. And Tony had, in his youth, seen his fair share of prisons.

The place was comprised of several large, brown-bricked buildings, all surrounded by a simple barbed-wire fence. Tony vaguely considered I the back of his mind that the man he was going to see should be locked up in something with a much, much higher security system. Possibly underground. Beneath several levels of concrete. He strode quietly to the visitor's entrance, a large, white building. He tapped once on the front window, and the door opened inward. He nodded slightly at the security guards as he walked past. JARVIS had made the arrangements while he was flying to the prison.

Walking through the halls, he thought again about Bruce, wondering if he was okay. The last time Bruce had experienced a nightmare this bad, he had come far, far, closer to having an incident. Tony remembered that night perfectly.

_Bruce thrashed in his sleep, his thumping heart almost audible in their small bedroom. It was only the third time that Bruce had slept in Tony's room, but Tony could already tell what was happening._

"_Bruce. Bruce, wake up." He pressed his hands to the sides of Bruce's face, wrapping one leg around Bruce's side. "Come on, big guy. Wake up."_

_Bruce roared, and rolled off of the bed. Tony, his leg still hooked around Bruce's waist, fell off with a quiet shriek, landing with Bruce on top of him. _

"_Bruce!" Bruce pushed his body up on his elbows, panting, and for the first time, Tony noticed the faint tint of green coloring Bruce's cheeks. _

"_Bruce? Hey, hey, Bruce, come on." Tony reached up again, and cupped Bruce's cheeks in his hands. Bruce jerked his head down, closing his eyes, and growling, his fist thumping the ground next to Tony's head. Tony ran his fingers through Bruce's curls, and wrapped his legs around the physicist's midsection, and pulled him as close as he could. "Bruce, baby, look at me." He kissed Bruce's cheek, and slid his hands down to wrap them around the back of his neck. Bruce's wild, unfocused eyes flashed open, and Tony, for the first time, saw the black irises that had replaced his green ones. _

"_Bruce, look at me, it's okay." Tony brought his head up to kiss Bruce's lips, and moved his hands down, roving them over his partner's body. Bruce's eyes finally focused on Tony's, though his breathing did not become any less erratic. _

_Tony pushed off of the ground, and flipped them, so that hey lay on top of Bruce's shuddering body. Bruce's eyes widened, and Tony leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. _

"_It's okay. I'm here. It's okay." He murmured, the repetition becoming a quiet chant of comforting words. Tony kissed Bruce's cheeks, his lips, his hair, his neck, whispering quietly as he did so. "I love you. It's okay. We're okay." _

_Slowly, Bruce's breathing began to calm. His heart slowed, and when Tony looked up, black had once again been replaced with hazel. Bruce closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, before bringing his hands up, to wrap them around Tony's waist, pulling him close, and holding him there. Bruce buried his face in Tony's neck, and Tony slid his fingers back up through the mess of brown curls. Bruce's body began to shake, but now, not with anger, with fear, as he sobbed into Tony's shoulder. Tony curled his fingers through Bruce's hair, and kissed the top of his head._

"_It's okay. It's okay. Shh, I got you. It's okay."_

Tony was snapped back to the present by the sound of a cell door opening. He looked to his left, and a guard nodded at him, motioning for him to go in. Tony jerked his head in response, before taking a few timid steps into the small room.

It was well-lit, and it appeared they had woken the man up for his visit. He sat, about five-foot-ten, by Tony's approximation, his body well-built for a man who had been in prison for over twenty years. He was now 67, as his file had told Tony when JARVIS had read it to him on the ride there. Tony stood still for a moment, staring silently at the man before him, who simply stared at the wall, not speaking. Eventually, Tony sat down in the metal chair that had been provided for him.

"Mr. Banner." Tony said quietly, his voice even. "Did they tell you who I am?" Bruce's father shook his head.

"No. Just woke me up."

Tony nodded, staring quietly for another moment. This man was nothing. This man did not exist. If Tony had his way, he wouldn't exist much longer, but, as JARVIS had very gently reminded him, that was very, very illegal.

"My name is Tony Stark. And I'm here because of Bruce." He didn't say 'your son' because Bruce wasn't this man's son. His head shot up.

"You know him?" The voice was gruff, and underused, and Tony wondered how long it had been since this man had actually conversed with another person.

"Yes. I do." Tony responded, his voice remaining entirely monotone.

"Little bastard die yet?" Bruce's father asked, glaring at the wall. Tony bristled, his fists clenching.

"No, he's fine." The man's shoulder sank.

"Oh." He said shortly, still staring at the wall. Abruptly, Tony stood up, and took a step forward, dragging the chair with him, and sitting back down. The man in front of him finally turned his head, making eye contact with Tony for the first time.

"Why are you here, then?" Tony finally allowed his face to take on a shape worthy of looking at the creature in front of him.

"Why did you do it?" He asked, ignoring the question. Bruce's father looked at him questioningly.

"What?" He asked, cocking his head to one side.

"The abuse." Tony replied, his hands clenching into fists around the chair. The man nodded.

"Honestly?" He asked, shaking his head, and looking down. "I hated that the little fuck was smarter than me. And then his mother...she loved it. It was bullshit." Tony's body grew hot, and his knuckles became white with the intensity with which he gripped the chair.

"Really, now?" Tony said quietly, and staring into the face of the man who had hurt his loved one, he felt nothing but malice. The man shrugged.

"Gave up hiding it after they put me in for life."

"Hm. You still hate him?" Tony tilted his head.

"Yep." He muttered, looking down. "He's the reason I'm in here, little bitch." Tony nodded, and paused for a moment before the chair was across the room, and Bruce's father was up against the wall, with Tony's surprisingly strong fingers wrapped around his neck. The prisoner's eyes went wide, and he stared at Tony with a mixture of fear and disbelief. Tony held him there for a moment, not moving, before he finally spoke.

"Your son..." Tony began, looking straight into his eyes as he continued. "Is the most incredible human being I have ever met." The man's eyes lost their previous concern, and his expression switched to one of raised eyebrows, and skepticism.

"He was a loser when he was a kid." He choked out, reaching up, and gripping his wrist. "And now I read in the paper he's a monster." Tony tightened his grip, cutting off his airway completely.

"Bruce is twice the man you will ever be, and have ever been. I did my research before coming here." And he had, JARVIS had helped. "You dropped out of highschool. Your parents were both genius mathematicians, but you hated everything academic. When you married Bruce's mother, it was because she got knocked up in the back of a MacDonalds, and you pulled Bruce out of school at age six because his teachers wanted to put him in advanced classes." His voice shook with rage as he continued, still squeezing. "Bruce is a genius, and a scholar, and a good man, and everything you never were and never will be." He let go, stepping back, and letting the older man gasp and cough for air. "You're being transferred in the morning to solitary confinement, where you'll spend the rest of your miserable life alone, with no outdoor access." He stated coldly, smoothing down his suit.

Bruce's father looked up at him, rubbing his neck.

"You and that kid friends or something?" He asked, glaring up at Tony with almost no emotion. Tony smirked, a small amount of his normal, businessman self pushing through his malice.

"Husbands, soon, hopefully." He said, pushing the chair back to the other end of the room. Bruce's father looked up at him aghast, his eyes widening again. Tony nodded. "Somehow it doesn't surprise me that you're a homophobe." He muttered, before turning, and leaving the room. He paused as he reached the door of the cell.

"You're never going to touch him again." Tony said quietly from the doorway. Bruce's father laughed.

"Don't be so sure."

"Oh, I am." Tony clenched his fist. "Because if you do, I'll kill you." And with that, he walked out, his shoes clacking on the plasticine floors.

He had somewhere better to be.

When Tony came home, Bruce was still in bed, having drifted off into a quiet sleep. Tony shucked his suit, and slid under the covers next to him. He wrapped his arm around Bruce's waist, and Bruce shifted slightly, curling into Tony's body. He blinked, and opened his eyes, reaching for Tony's hand.

"Where..." He trailed off, and Tony's face hardened.

"You know where." He growled, and the arm around Bruce tightened protectively. Bruce nodded, and laced his fingers through Tony's, pressing his body closer.

"Alright." He murmured, turning his head to kiss Tony's cheek. "Get some sleep."

Tony nodded slightly, and kissed Bruce's head gently. "G'night, babe." He whispered.

Over the years, there would be many more nightmares for both of them. But whenever Bruce would wake up scared, Tony would destroy whatever scared him. And whenever Tony screamed in the night and sat up not sure where he was, Bruce would wrap his arms around Tony's waist, and pull him back into the covers, soothing him quietly with his hands and words.


End file.
